Finland introduced its day fine system in 1921, making it one of the oldest implementations of income based punishment in the world. The system calculates fines based on an offender's daily disposable income, generally their daily salary divided by two. The daily disposable income is one 60th of a person's monthly mean income after taxes, social security payments, and a basic living allowance of €255 per month have been deducted. The minimum day fine is €6, but speeding fines start at €115 to €200 depending on the vehicle type.
Minor speeding violations up to 20 km/h over the limit receive fixed petty fines handled on the spot by police. Cross that threshold and the day fine system activates. The more a driver exceeds the speed limit, the greater the number of day fines they receive. A fine can consist of one to 120 day fines for a single offense, or up to 240 if multiple crimes are punished together. Unlike Sweden, which caps its day fines to prevent excessive amounts, Finland has no maximum day fine, which may lead to considerably high fines for high income persons.
The results have been spectacular. In 2002, Anssi Vanjoki, a former Nokia director, was ordered to pay €116,000 after being caught driving 75 km/h in a 50 km/h zone on his motorbike. Multi millionaire Anders Wiklöf received a €121,000 fine in 2023, adding to previous fines of €95,000 in 2013 and €63,000 in 2018, totaling €279,000 over the years. In 2019, business executive Maarit Toivanen was fined €74,000 for driving at 112 km/h in an 80 km/h zone. In 2015, businessman Reima Kuisla was fined €54,000 for driving 22 km/h over the 50 km/h limit.
Police can access taxation data of Finnish citizens and permanent residents via a real time datalink, making it nearly impossible to lie about income. Lying about income is a crime punishable with a fine or up to three months in prison. Foreign drivers without Finnish tax records default to the minimum day fine rate, but Finnish residents caught speeding face immediate income verification through the taxpayer database.
The philosophy is straightforward. The rationale behind this type of fine is to create a fining system which equalizes the burden of punishment on offenders, irrespective of their income. A €200 fine means nothing to someone earning €50,000 a month. It means everything to someone earning €2,000. Under the day fine system, both pay proportionally, ensuring the deterrent effect remains constant across income levels.
Finland is not the only country to apply progressive punishment to speeding fines. Day fines are practiced in around half of European countries, including Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland. Switzerland currently holds the world record speeding ticket under a similar system. Britain tried the system from 1992 to 1993 but abandoned it after magistrates and the public rejected the approach.
According to the European Road Safety Observatory, drivers in Finland are more supportive of stringent legislation on speeding and drunk driving compared to their European counterparts. Whether that's because of the day fine system or despite it remains open to interpretation. What's measurable is that Finnish roads are among the safest in Europe, and wealthy drivers can't simply budget for speeding tickets as a cost of doing business. When a minor speed violation can cost six figures, everyone slows down.
